Life is hard. Every day brings its own struggle. At times it may be a fight just to keep it together. It feels like there are so many things going against us. There is our past which gave us the scars we now live with. There is our future, which leaves us in uncertainty. And there is our present, which is a clash of both our past and future. Somehow, we need to find the strength to keep on fighting.

            In today’s day and age, things may seem so bleak. Things on this Earth just seem to be getting worse and worse. When will it all end? We say we are fighting for peace and love, yet all that is seen is hate and violence. We come up with temporary solutions instead of getting down to the root of the problem. We are surrounded by so much darkness. However, there is still hope in these dark times.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” – 1 Peter 1:3

            God has given us a living hope in which we can find joy, peace, and love. We are so fortunate to have Jesus Christ living within us to give us what this world cannot give. The sad thing is that many reject Him and prefer to find solace in this world. They miss out on His blessing and wonder why they feel so empty. I’ve seen this happen more and more lately. Even many of those who have called themselves Christians have fallen away. You may be wondering why. The answer is simple…they lost hope.

            It is easy to feel overwhelmed by our circumstances. It is also easy to give up based on what is going on in this world. I know I have used this analogy before, but it is (to me) one of the most powerful examples of what happens when we allow our circumstances to take our focus off of God. You have heard of the story of when Jesus was walking on water. It can be found in Matthew 14:22-33. This story takes place right after Jesus fed the multitude of five thousand.

            Jesus sent His disciples ahead of Him to the next city, while He stayed behind to pray. As the disciples made their way across the sea, they were overtaken by a storm. Wind and waves were crashing down all over them and they feared for their lives. Off in the distance, they see someone walking towards them on the water and you can imagine how much more freaked out they must have been. Jesus reassured them that there was no need to fear because He was with them. Peter, one of the disciples, gained some courage and wanted to walk to Jesus.

            As he made his way towards Jesus, he began to remember how bad the storm was. The wind was blowing every which way and the waves were menacing. The fear he had felt earlier started creeping in again and he began to sink into the waters. He cried out to Jesus to save him and of course, Jesus pulled him out. “O you of little faith, why why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14: 31). Once they both got back into the boat the storm subsided.   

This story teaches us so much. Life is going to bring storms. We can let those storms consume us with fear and doubt or we can take courage in knowing that Jesus will get us through the storm. We also see that even those who were with Jesus, those who saw His miracles, even they still doubted. So, doubt can overtake anyone of us…even Christians. Lastly, we see that when we let our fears and doubts overcome us, all we need to do is call on His name and He will pull us out. He will never leave you.

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

            It hurts me to see how many people lose hope and decide to fight on their own in this world. They don’t want to acknowledge God’s great love and mercy. In all honesty, I don’t know how I used to get through life without Him. I do know that even in those times, He was still with me. Everything in my life, up until this point, has been leading me back to Him. I still have bad days, just like I have good days. The difference is that even in those bad days, I still have hope for the future. I can live confidently in His security and know that everything will be ok.

            To those of you who are struggling against the waves and trying to swim yourself out, know that He is right there. Can’t you see Him? His hand is stretched out towards you. He wants to help you and save you. You just need to let go of all that pride and call on Him. He will show you a love, a peace, and a joy that you have never experienced before.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” – Romans 5:1-5